There are many different types of sighting/aiming devices for firearms. Traditional devices include open sights, peep sights, etc. In relatively recent times, telescopic sights have gained in popularity and are a common means for sighting/aiming firearms, including rifles, pistols, shotguns, blackpowder weapons, air rifles, crossbows, etc. As some scopes do not magnify the sight picture and otherwise have somewhat departed in form and function from the standard telescopic sights, the term “scope” is used to encompass all such related devices. Scopes often comprise a single tube of aluminum or other material containing therein a plurality of lenses that gather and/or magnify incoming light. They are designed for light to enter the objective end of the scope and be transmitted to the ocular end or eyepiece and then on to a user's eye. Commonly, scopes employ one or more reticles, often referred to as crosshairs, to aid the user in aligning the scope with the target in the sight picture provided to the user when he or she looks into the eyepiece. Since scopes are usually attached to firearms in a fixed manner, by aligning the scope with the target, the user is automatically aligning the firearm as well. Some scopes incorporate electronics such as lights, lighted-reticles, and/or laser range-finding devices.
Regardless of the internal components of a scope, both ends of a scope's tube (the objective end and the ocular end) are sealed with relatively delicate lenses. As such lenses are generally made from glass or other delicate materials, it is desirable to protect them from damage. Furthermore, moisture (fog, rain, snow, etc.) can reduce the effectiveness and usability of scopes if said moisture is allowed to impact and/or collect upon the surfaces of lenses.
Therefore, what is needed is a means for protecting the external surfaces of the external lenses in a rifle scope. A number of lens-protection devices have been developed in the art. Many known devices use opaque scope covers that have to be removed before the scope can be employed. Such devices may cause difficulties if, for example, in a hunting situation, the scope must be quickly employed before the target no longer presents a good shot. In such cases, taking the time to manually remove an opaque scope cover can cause the user to miss a shot opportunity. In response to these difficulties, some devices have been developed that utilize generally transparent covers that allow a user to sight through a scope without removing the lens covers. Although an improvement, such systems have other limitations, including that they are fixed-lens protective devices and when such devices become scratched, worn, clouded, etc., the covers no longer provide a clear sight picture and thus again necessitate removal of the covers prior to utilizing the scope. In an attempt to solve this problem, other known devices use quick-release or flip-up lens covers which still require that the user have time to activate such mechanisms before the scope can be properly employed.
An additional problem with known lens covers is that they employ a permanent or fixed lens cover that is not quickly and easily customized or interchanged. For example, such devices may employ a shaded lens cover for use on bright, sunny days. However, if the device is employed in low-light conditions (such as near dawn or dusk), the shaded lens cover reduces the light transmission through the scope resulting in the user not being able to properly see a target. Similarly, some devices employ amber lens covers that can be useful in certain shooting circumstances but are a detriment in others.
Yet another problem inherent in known lens covers is that they are designed to either loosely fit a small range of scope sizes or more tightly fit a single scope size. An obvious problem with the former type of devices is that they can allow rain, fog, snow, debris, dust and moisture to enter the space between the lens covers and the lenses, thus defeating the purpose of the lens covers. The latter type of devices may do a better job of keeping out such offending substances, but they can only be employed on scopes of a single size, thus requiring a user to purchase a large number of such devices in various sizes in order to properly protect all the differently sized scopes that a particular user may own.
Thus, what is needed is an interchangeable scope lens cover system that allows a user to quickly and easily change out old, scratched lens covers for new, un-blemished covers while simultaneously allowing a user to select from multiple types of lens covers including, but not limited to: clear, shaded, colored, polarized, amber, smoke, glass, polycarbonate, anti-glare, UV-blocker, etc. (or a combination thereof). Further, the lens cover system should also be designed to provide a press fit on a number of differently sized scopes in order to maximize the scope lens cover system's interoperability with various scopes while maintaining a high level of scope lens protection.